Durability

• Definition of durability and reliability, warrantee

• Examples of durability – structural failure, malfunction, rust
• Bathtub curve
• Durability evaluation: lab test, proving ground, fleet, analysis
• Proving ground correlation
• Structural fatigue failure – hair clip example
• S-N curve
• S-N curve for metals
• Load histogram/load signal
• Damage calculation
• Suspension load estimation
• Suspension parameters
• Road surfaces
• Assignment
• System design
 Reliability & Durability

• Reliability: System is unreliable when it malfunctions or

fails unexpectedly, examples of unreliability:
– A new car will not start after 3 months of purchase
– Window does not roll down after 6 months
– Power lock does not work within a month
– Rattling noise within 2 months
• Durability: System is durable when it performs or does
not fail beyond its expected life, examples of durability:
– A car does not need any repair during warranty period of 3 years
– A car is still on the road after 10 years
– A car is still on the road after 200,000 km
 Types of Failures
• Early or Infant Mortality Failures: These are mostly due
to manufacturing defects and has a decreasing failure
rate. Examples: Electronic modules not working, window
does not open due to interference fit, etc.
• Durability Failures: These are mostly due to wear and
tear or fatigue failures and has an increasing failure rate.
Examples: Wearing of brake pads, wearing of shock
absorbers, tire wear, body rust, muffler rust damage, etc.
• Random Failures: These are random in nature and occur
due to accidents abuse or misuse and has a constant
failure rate.
 Typical Failure Rate During Product
Life Cycle
Failure
Rate

Constant failure rate (CFR) indicates

Decreasing failure failures that happen at random.
rate (DFR) indicates They are unrelated to wear and may Increasing failure rate
manufacturing defects happen due to accidents, abuse or (IFR) show the effect
resulting in early misuse. of accumulated
failures
damage (metal fatigue,
cumulative
environmental
exposure, etc.)
Infant Mortality
(DFR) Random Failure (CFR) Wear out Failure
(IFR)

“Useful Life” Time in Service

• The rate at which failures occur is typically characterized by the “bathtub

curve”
• The three regions of the curve indicate distinct failure modes
 Ideal Failure Rate in Vehicle Life Cycle
Some “extreme-duty”
Failure customers (<10%)
Rate may experience early
wear out
Failure modes
discovered and fixed Random failures cannot be avoided.
during product testing (They are unrelated to time-in-service)
- Minor accidents Majority of wear out
- Severe road hazards failures (>>90%) occur
- Misuse or abuse outside the 10yr/150K
mile target

Product Development Random Failure (CFR) Wear out Failure

Testing (DFR) (IFR)

J#1 “Trouble-Free Life” Target Time in Service

(10 yr/150K Miles for 90% of customers)

• The intent of PD is that all potential failures modes that we design against are discovered
and fixed before Job #1.
• We accept that we cannot possibly design for every single customer. Therefore we define
the usage spectrum corresponding to 90% of the customers as our target for wear out
failures.
 Potential Failure Modes and Their Relationship to
Strength and Fatigue Requirements
Failure
Rate “Design for Fatigue”
Identify and design against all

“Robust Testing” “Design for Strength” potential failure modes related to

Failure may be unavoidable. If repeated duty cycles
“Front-load” the
vehicle fails, it must fail safely (within
discovery of failure “Common-occurrence loads”
reasonable limits)
modes using CAE and
laboratory tests
“Low-occurrence loads”

Random Failure (CFR)

Product Development Wear out Failure

Testing (DFR) (IFR)

J#1 “Trouble-Free Life” Target Time in Service

(10 yr/150K Miles)

• The “Fatigue Requirements” cover the usage spectrum of 90% of the customers
• The “Strength Requirements” cover “extreme duty” customers as well as “random” events.
Failures are possible, and the intent is to develop fail-safe designs.
• During product development, laboratory tests at component and system levels are employed as
early as possible to “front-load” the discovery of strength and fatigue failure modes (as opposed
vehicle tests in the proving ground)
 Methods of Durability Testing
• FE & fatigue analysis of complete body/chassis
system subject to duty cycle
• Lab testing of the vehicle
• Vehicle testing on the proving ground
• Vehicle fleet testing on public roads
Laboratory Testing
 Proving Ground Testing

Hilly Terrain for Powertrain Dynamic

Salt
Bath Loads
Rough Road Track

Average length of the circuit: 5 - 6 miles

Average speed: 30-55 mph
Proving Ground Miles: 10,000
Equivalent Miles: 150,000
 Proving Ground Description
• Rough Road Track for Structural Durability includes: road with pot
holes, speed bumps, curb, cobblestone, twist ditch, etc.
• Powertrain Durability Track includes: 1% - 5% uphill and downhill
roads
• Dynamic Loads Track includes: Roads with ability produce 0.8 –
1.0G lateral acceleration
• Salt Bath Track includes: Muddy terrain and salt spraying facility
 Description of Fatigue Failure

Force ,F

Force ,F
Fixed Fixed
Load

N0 Cycles, N
 S-N Curve for Metals

S-N Curve for SAE 1010 Steel

50

45

40
(Engg.) Stress Range, KSI

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07

Fatigue Life, Cycles

 Notes of Fatigue Life

 Endurance Limit (EL) is the same as Fatigue Limit (FL). EL is more

commonly used in U.K. and for Steel; FL is used in the U.S. for all materials.

 Rule of Thumb for Fatigue Design: - 5 to -10% Stress => +100% Life

To increase Fatigue Life, increase the strength of the part without inflicting
surface damage. Fatigue begins at stress concentrators which are most
frequently located on surfaces

 Low cycle Life is dominated by Ductility and Plastic Behavior;

High cycle Life is dominated by Strength and Elastic Behavior.
The crossover point on the S-N Curve is called “Transition Fatigue Life”.
The higher the hardness of the steel (lower ductility),
the lower the Transition Fatigue Life.
 Notes on Fatigue Life

 For steel structures, a fatigue crack needs to be 1 mm long before it

propagates; scratches and nicks don’t grow.

 To resist Crack Nucleation (Initiation), make the part stronger;

To resist Crack Propagation, select a more ductile material.

Physics Method Crack Size Surface Finish

Influence
Crack Nucleation Stress-Life < 0.1 mm Strong

Microcrack Growth Strain-Life 0.1 – 1 mm Moderate

Macrocrack Growth Crack Propagation >1 mm None

 Stress Cycle
σm = (σt+ σc)/2
m
σt – max tensile stress
σm = 0 if σt = σc
σm < 0 if σt < σc
σm > 0 if σt > σc
Cyclic Stress, σ

Time

σc – max compressive stress

 Notes on Fatigue Life
 Variability in Loading is much more critical for accuracy in
estimating Fatigue Life, than variability in Material Strength.

 Mean Stress Effect - Tensile Mean Stresses reduce Fatigue Life or

decrease the allowable Stress Range.
 Compressive Mean Stresses increase Fatigue Life or increase the
allowable Stress Range.

If the Fatigue Life corresponding to Zero Mean Stress is N0

When Mean Stress/Ultimate Strength = 0.2, then N = 0.1 N0

When Mean Stress/Ultimate Strength = 0.4, then N = 0.05 N0
When Mean Stress/Ultimate Strength = -0.2, then N = 10 N0
When Mean Stress/Ultimate Strength = -0.4, then N = 100 N0
Actual Service Loads & Histogram
Cyclic Load

Time

Load Histogram
Load

Cycles
 Fatigue Damage Calculation
S1
S2
S3
Stress

S4 Stress Histogram
S5
S6

N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 Cycles
50

45 S-N Curve for Metal

40

35
Stress

30

25

20
6
15
Damage D = Σ N(σi)/Ni
10 1
5

0 And D < 1
1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07

Cycles
Process to Evaluate Structural Durability

Road Surface,
Speed and
Number of Passes

Suspension Load
Histogram for
Components

Component
Stress
Histogram

Damage Calculation
from Material
S-N Curve
 Durability Road Surface
• Severe pothole – 1 pot hole per how many miles (N)
• Severe bump - 1 bump per how many miles (N)
• Cobble stone - 1 cobblestone per how many miles (N)
• Etc.

Pothole dimensions, speed, no. of occurrence

Bump dimensions, speed, no. of occurrence

cobblestone dimensions, speed, no. of occurrence

No. of Occurrences = Warranty mileage/N

 Suspension Load Calculation
Rebound Jounce
Rebound High Cut - Off - Jounce High Cut - Off -
Low speed speed Speed Low speed speed Speed
damping damping (Rebound) damping damping (Jounce)
(N.sec/m) (N.sec/m m/s (N.sec/m (N.sec/m m/s

Shock Load
1000 2000 1.5 750 2000 1

Sprung
corner wt 400 kg
Unsprung Whl speed
weight 40 kg

Road
Profile

Whl Load
Tire Load

Rim
Tire Contact
Lift-off
Tire Compression Whl Deflection

Rim Stiffness(N/mm) 2000

Rim contact (mm) 75

Rebound Rebound Jounce Jounce

Bumper Wheel Rebound Wheel Bumper Jounce
Tire Rate Rate Clearance Rate Rate Clearance
Stiffness 200 N/mm (N/mm) (N/mm) (mm) (N/mm) (N/mm) (mm)
Tire lift-off 21.582 mm 200 50 100 45 200 80
 Jounce/Rebound Clearance

Jounce Fender
Clearance

Tire

Small Car 50 mm
Large Car 90 mm
Big SUV 120mm
Truck 150mm
 Suspension Loads

Parameters that affect Dynamic Loads*

• Tire Stiffness / Size

• Vehicle Weight / Weight Distribution
• Jounce / Rebound Travel (J/R Bumper Height)
• Jounce / Rebound Bumper Properties
• Shock-Absorber Parameters
• Unsprung (Wheel, Spindle, Axle, Suspension) Mass
• Spring Stiffness
 Stress Calculation

Shock Absorber Tube Cross-section with area A

Shock absorber load from suspension load calculation Pmax

Peak stress = Pmax/A

 Fatigue Damage Calculation
S1
S2
S3
Stress

S4 Stress Histogram
S5
S6

N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 Cycles
50

45 S-N Curve for Metal

40

35
Stress

30

25

20
6
15
Damage D = Σ N(σi)/Ni
10 1
5

0 And D < 1
1.E+00 1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07

Cycles
 Procedure

• Design durability road event, geometry, speed and number of

occurrences
• Calculate maximum shock absorber load from spreadsheet for
each road profile
• Construct load and stress histogram
• Assume material S-N curve from internet
• Calculate damage
• If damage is > 100%, use different material or area